iMac Mid-2010 27 inch (A1312) SSD and RAM disassembly and upgrade - Much FASTER!

[@Pale5tinian]

In a world with too many "how-to" videos. I found this one to be the most helpful. Thanks

[@TurningPointeDesigns]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I used your video for the install of the new SSD and the fan software. My old computer came back to life. I am so grateful. It did not boot up (white screen with gray apple logo for hours) so I went to another video and learned how to clone my HD to the SSD drive (cloning took 5 hours) Then it booted right up. My 2010 27" works great for what I need it to do. Thanks again Andrew.

[@timmchugh3648]

Excellent! I decided to upgrade my memory to the maximum of 16GB since the prices have come down on the cost of memory. Your instructional video was very well produced and extremely helpful!

[@jaycooney5766]

Cant thank you enough for posting this, just breathed life back into a 2010 iMac, blazing fast with a 1T SSD and 12g Ram!

[@jimclarksenior2180]

Jay, Did you have any problems installing osX operating system on new ssd as described by Andrew? Or did you a different process? I have been unsuccessful in my attempts following his instructions. Thanks

[@jimclarksenior2180]

UPDATE: Repeated process and this time the recovery server was able to be contacted so downloading High Sierra. Did nothing different so assume Apple server not available last evening for some reason. Just happy it is downloading today. Hopefully will have same success you had Jay.

[@RajinderYadav]

Really helpful, I'm hoping I can open up my wife PC and bring it back to life. My glass was so tight and strongly stuck together, I used a blade knife to create a gap so I could use my fingernails to pull it apart. I used a stong suction cup and the glass wouldn't budge. I was convinced they just glued it on haha.

[@satwatchers]

Brilliant video! You made it look so easy! Lay the iMac horizontal and prop up display for easy access!!! Brilliant! Simple install and the fan control software I didn’t even know existed. THANK YOU

[@vikingwind25]

Very good video! Simple , direct and yet covers all needed tasks to upgrade this IMac with a SSD and OS install procedure. Other videos on the iMac 2010 make this look like brain surgery Thanks! I am not a computer person and almost missed the fact that you need a connected keyboard and Lan (not blue tooth keyboard and WiFi ) to issue initial commands and access the internet for the fan software download. I have ordered the parts you used and will do this upgrade next week. I had an original hard drive failure and was quoted $ 725 to repair. This upgrade will issue new life to my IMac. Again, thanks!

[@Andytizer]

Glad you found it useful!

[@nuclearmonster]

Thanks for the great tip about holding the screen open with a box! Worked very well.

[@wattage]

Outstanding video. No mucking around. Straight to the point. I just got one of these as a freebie and wanted to upgrade the HD and RAM. Now I know how, thanks to your awesome vid. Thank you for putting it together and sharing!

[@kobywiebe4124]

Very helpful. I had just upgraded my iMac based on these instructions and it worked.

[@Clow1505]

Thank you so much for you tutorial! My iMac was almost dying and thanks to the SSD and the RAM upgrade, I can use it again. Love from France :)

[@CYMotorsport]

0:47 important to note it wont' be this easy for folks. it's that easy for you bc you've removed that screen recently clearly.

[@talldave7799]

Nice hack w the temperature sensor! I had no idea about that App which monitors the temprature.

[@chrishainstock330]

great video (perhaps some close-ups would have been even more useful) you did a jump-cut when re-connecting the SATA cables to the SSD which is a shame - (bigger close-ups of the vertical sync cable being disconnected would been the icing on the cake) - but as a quick reminder this video is still very much appreciated

[@francisreidjr3788]

Thanks Andrew, great help in getting this down, I did use the suction cups, used plastic gloves to avoid fingerprints

[@songsan807]

Just found your video and channel today after it was released 2 years ago. So definitely late to the party. I do have a 2010 iMac. Easily upgrade the memory to 8GB within a month by just unscrewing the 2 screws, pull the old one out and put in the new one. Wished Apple didn't made it complicated to add memory and SSD but they did to future macs. SSD were still expensive at the time until the last 3-4 years. And just the worry of messing up the screen put me off damaging a $1,000+ purchased iMac. Now I seen your video and the iMac is too obsolete to use in its current state, it would be worth it to open it up and make the upgrade.

[@dreagonzalez24]

bruh 3 days ive spent trying everything , cant wait to go home and try this .

[@okezsoke]

Hi, Thanks for this awesome video! After erasing the SSD, the installer said it needs Mac OS Extended (journaled) , and did not let me choose the drive. So I had to go back. After that, it did not let me choose other the APFS cos it was already formatted. Then I had to choose to see everything on the top left corner view menu. Then I was able to clik 2 levels higher and choose different formatting settings. I just tought it might be useful to commnet if anyone hase the same issue. I hope it is not a problem that I've choosen a different disc format option...

[@nking2146]

My SSD and RAM upgrade arrives in 2 days, thanks to your really great video. Hoping my mid-2010 iMac is vastly improved. Do you recommend a CPU or GPU upgrade on a mid-2010? (I am running a 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Core i5 and ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024 MB)

[@BeeTammo]

Thanks for the video, couldnt find the link to the MAX fan

[@rbwillm]

Great informative video, everything worked as explained. Thanks very much.

[@eb1295r]

Great video! Thank you for this. Il will help me to upgrade my iMac 27' mid-2010 to OS14 with opencore legacy patcher! Very helpful!

[@Andytizer]

Glad it helped!

[@kellypeterson2625]

Great video. But I don't understand where the OS is installed From..a flash drive? Online,?

[@scemolivvy]

My screen cracked sadly. So hoping this tutorial will help me replace it

[@michaelkorba2813]

Great video. I am going to do this to my 2010 as well. Is it possible to update hardware on these older iMacs to run current OS?

[@eb1295r]

Yes, with Opencore legacy patcher. It add all the software needed to upgrade your old mac. You will find tones of tuto about it on youtube. You'll need 8 go Ram on OS12. and 12 go Ram on OS14

[@jimclarksenior2180]

Followed your steps and everything looked AOK until attempting to install Operating System. Won't install High Sierra ...... states "The recovery server could not be contacted". Do I need to reinstall operating system that come on this iMac? I believe it was on a disk that came with the machine and was Snow Leopard. Thanks for your assistance

[@jimclarksenior2180]

UPDATE: Repeated process and this time the recovery server was able to be contacted so downloading High Sierra. Did nothing different so assume Apple server not available last evening for some reason. Just happy it is downloading today. Thanks for posting.

[@iraneman1668]

Is it possible to upgrade to 10.15 or a better OS? Seems now a days nothing is compatible with older OS though the hard ware is still capable (Similar or better than older Windows) and I don't understand why Apple does this trick to its fan-people! If you know a way, please details.

[@vossen163]

через загрузчик Open Core можно Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma

[@kamaljitlall9329]

Excellent video. Very much appreciated. Kam

[@giorgos7six]

Hi, very nice video! Im having an issue, maybe u can help... when starting the iMac, i can hear the chime and then iMac restarts. Chime is heard again and then iMac restarts. This situation repeats over and over, it cant boot normally neither with the option button pressed! Any idea why?

[@ScottShaffer65]

Fantastic video. Imac working like new. Except that I can't download office or photoshop processors out of date. Any Ideas?

[@equima]

Great and straight on topic!!! Excellent 😊

[@timsalmon3832]

Cheers! This worked for me! 😊

[@stevegonzalez7896]

just picked one up at goodwill for 20 bucks.... it doesnt turn on but for 20 bucks im willing to tinker with it and see if i can figure out what went wrong

[@lenina12]

I am about to do this tomorrow. I have the 2,5’’ SSD drive though. Fingers crossed if iMac allows me to install High Sierra as today it would say it could not contact the server. My HHD hard disc has died as well and I was unable to access anything on this computer :(

[@davidbuck2343]

Try Open core Patcher. I'm running Ventura! Works great💯🙌

[@jessyjaro4214]

Can this exactly procedure be used for the imac 2010 21.5 inch model too?

[@frankle246]

Thanks for sharing. Do you think imac late 2009 will run faster with this upgrade or not much bz of speed limit of the old port?

[@JustaRandomYTperson]

Trust me, it will love you if you do that.

[@albertbrooklyn]

I performed the upgrade of my mid 2010 27" iMac with recommended 1TB Sandisk Plus SSD, and although the computer once booted is definitely faster but oddly enough the boot time is longer than with the rotational drive. Any thoughts? Update, I solved the problem about the slow boot time.

[@Latashamorriscom]

How did you solve the issue?.

[@albertbrooklyn]

@@Latashamorriscom I went into System Preferences then into "Startup Disk" and selected the "new" hard drive as the default hard drive. What I suspect was happening was that the mac operating system was first searching for the old hard drive than after it couldn't locate it it defaulted to the "new" hard drive. That roundabout boot up is what created the delay. I went from a boot-time of 55 seconds to 23 seconds.......Hope that helps!

[@Latashamorriscom]

@@albertbrooklyn it definitely helps. I have the opportunity purchase the same iMac you have and want to do the same. Only thing is the one I'm looking at the Bezel is chipped.

[@lydiajose3982]

Can i ask will all these components work in a 21.5” model? (Same year etc) Thanks 😊

[@electroautoinc6075]

Quicm question ⁉️ Can you put 2, perhaps even 3 SSD drive? It has mora sata cables connections?

[@Andytizer]

Yea you can replace the SATA DVD drive too using a special bracket.

[@12packnight81]

Perfect - Chef's Kiss Homie!!!

[@petertruong83]

I was temped to replace my imac hdd with the new ssd many times but i just realize that the ssd was not that durable comparing to imac hdd. I did replace my window laptop hdd with the new 2tb ssd but i was not brave enough to do the same thing to my iMac

[@fbtd2456]

Hello Andrew, after attempting install I ran into a problem when trying to install internet recovery. It seems to be stuck in this mode. Don’t know how to move forward. Thank you.

[@lenina12]

Hey, I am facing the same issue. How to overcome it?

[@Javaid-Success-Coach]

Best instructions covering everything including the fan.

[@Mobee-Ape-Official]

Going to try this on my FrankenMac. Ty! Any concerns with putting 32 GB ram in it?

[@joshua7920]

Would this computer then be able to upgrade to the latest macOS version with these space and memory upgrades?

[@josepedraza2530]

Im doing this Saturday. Is the fan software the same?

[@NikCan66]

Excellent video

[@canikaz]

Hello! Do you have to remove RAM sticks first?

[@markslima1557]

no not necessary

[@regianejohnsen]

Hello! Please I need help, I did all the procedure, my i mac is working, unless safari, I can`t get it work, always show a message that is not findind the server, do you have any tips for me? Thank you !!!

[@farrez_gump]

Can you put 4gb stick in ram or dose it have to be 2gb ram ?

[@desireepuertos]

Did all the steps but my computer won’t allow me to put it in recovery mode and the keyboard will randomly not work when it’s a wired usb. Any suggestions?

[@amytran6020]

Hi, i have 2x2gb memory, after inserting additional memory 2gb, the computer wont start, but once removed with the same 4 gb, then its will start. please advise thanks so much

[@tanvo5788]

Nicely done. Thanks

[@jordanpaul4327]

This is awesome! Thanks!

[@Panic_Kill3r]

If I just wanted to buy the cable for thermal controller for the hard drive what would it be? Would I still need software to control the fan? Can you do this upgrade on the 21.5 in too?

[@Andytizer]

I would just skip the cable and use software to control it, it's much simpler and cheaper.

[@Panic_Kill3r]

@@Andytizer so I replaced the ram and hard drive erased the drive and the tried to install new OS it gets halfway through be for boot cycling and doing it again. Thoughts?

[@carmenmroman2635]

Thank you very much excellent tutorial

[@BurninVinyl]

Hi, where I can find the list of possible CPU I can install on it? thank you in advance.

[@breakncrazy]

How long does internet recovery take?

[@CUBICCA-s6w]

Hi, All good until High Siera doesn't load - "target is not convertible to APFS" so the drop down window says "server can not be reached"or "will not respond". Do you know what I can do to load the OS please? Many thanks. John.

[@CUBICCA-s6w]

By the way my Mac is exactly the same 27" mid 2010 iMac as in your posting.

[@johnnybals3183]

What OS X did you have running before the procedure? I guess OS X El Capitan or something? I think High Sierra is no longer offered on Apple's server and therefore you cannot continue installing it. Just my thoughts of course and I'm no Apple expert 🙂

[@CUBICCA-s6w]

@@johnnybals3183 So the OS is High Sierra, same as in the video by Andrew Tsai. But I've found a way forward, I created a Bootable High Sierra Install drive on my other Mac running Ventura, and download it to an external drive, then started the old Mac with that plugged in, & it recognised the install drive immediately and loaded High Sierra. I don't know why I needed to do that... but there appeared no other way. Cheers. J

[@johnnybals3183]

Yahhh, that's the way, good job !!!

[@IPULCOLUMBIA]

Would it be easier just to clone drive??

[@james-qg7hz]

Very useful video thank you

[@gametraveler2446]

Very useful 🥰

[@Monty_BeGoodToEachOther]

Gave you like, but I wish you had cleaned or at least addressed those dirty/clogged fans. In general users can expect overheating problems, and shorter component life spans from clogged fans.

[@bushbwoy1]

SOLID!!!👌👍👍👍

[@KaliBroBtw]

Is the ram DIMM or SODIMM?

[@xvidasx]

Why did you remove old samsung ram ???? You can leave them where they are and add 2 4gb and have 12 gb ram 🤯

[@zquest42]

Whats the maximum ram that this can run?

[@jothain]

What happens with that fan issue if you install ie. Linux or Windows to that SSD?

[@bombadil3724]

Macs Fan Control is also available on Windows.

[@h.b.p1197]

Fantastic!

[@lenina12]

How do I go ahead and install Mac OS Sierra if I get the message I cannot connect to the server?

[@aimetek]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/paaxgoZpa8l8eNk

[@suspensefulness]

is this imac good to use in 2022

[@kaiisreal9499]

For daily tasks, yes. For anything heavy, no.

[@martian4971]

我觉得可以买低配Mac，但把内存升级用移动固态硬盘来填补储存需要。

[@LiangQi]

External hard disk is much slower than internal ones.

[@claudiu1178]

Is this upgrade good in 2023 also? How to upgrade higher ios?

[@redmoon9650]

That’s what I want to know too, I’m not upgrading for the speed or quality, I just need to be able to download certain programs that are not compatible right now with my iMac. Can’t even download Microsoft 🙄

[@TheFachschAFT]

I cannot download the operating system, always errors when attempting to verify information. Anybody an idea?

[@johnnybals3183]

What OS X did you have running before the procedure? I guess OS X El Capitan or something? I think High Sierra is no longer offered on Apple's server and therefore you cannot continue installing it. Just my thoughts of course and I'm no Apple expert 🙂

[@salihgurbuz3604]

You are awesome

[@technocatdance]

Max ram I can install ?

[@iraneman1668]

Each older model varies and you can find this online but I guess on this it is 32 (4x8 or maybe 4x16=64). You can find the exact answer by looking for your model which can be identified when you know your 4 IDs: Model Number, EMC Number, Model Identifier, Serial Number

[@SeMedia_]

Thx

[@TurningPointeDesigns]

After internet recovery (spinning globe) is completed, it is nothing but a white screen with a small gray apple logo.

[@NoName-tx7og]

Terminal seniors kabels

[@altonpaige2388]

I don’t understand why didn’t you max out the ram to 16 GB?

[@JustaRandomYTperson]

8gb is decent for a pc in 2023. Loads of laptops have that many and with 16 gigs, you would probably be doing something high performance and I don't think many people do high performance stuff on 2010 iMacs in 2023.

[@emerica912]

what is the max RAM gb i can install on this computer ?